When the
Arena Football League suspended the 2009 season last December, it was
devastating news, not only for me, but for fans all over the country. However, I
was comforted in knowing that the arenafootball2 (af2) season would still go on
as scheduled. The af2 is the developmental league of the AFL and plays by the
same rules as the AFL.

I have been a season ticket
holder of the AFL Grand Rapids Rampage since 2001 and since I would not have the
Rampage this year, I decided to see what af2 games I could attend. In past
years, I have taken my boys on trips to see four different af2 teams, the Green
Bay Blizzard, the Quad City Steamwheelers, the Louisville Fire and the Fort
Wayne Fusion. Earlier this year, we attended the season opener of the new
Milwaukee Iron team.

As I looked over the entire
2009 af2 schedule, one game caught my attention. It was the June 20 game between
the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz and the Corpus Christi Sharks. Both teams had one
thing in common; their head coaches are also former head coaches of the Grand
Rapids Rampage.

Michael Trigg was the head
coach in Grand Rapids from 1998-2003 and led the team the ArenaBowl XV title in
2001. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Soul in 2004 and has been the
head coach of the af2 Sharks since they were founded in 2007. The Sharks also
feature kicker Nick Gatto, who played for the Rampage briefly in 2004.

Sparky McEwen started out as a
quarterback for the Rampage in 1998. He was the team's offensive coordinator
during the 2001 title season under Trigg and was also the head coach in GR from
2005-2007. In 2004, McEwen was an assistant coach in Oklahoma City and took over
after then head coach Gary Reasons resigned. He returned as head coach of the
Yard Dawgz in 2008. Several people on the team also have ties to Grand Rapids
including assistant coach Stan Davis, wide receiver Carlton Brewster, lineman
Kelly Butler and lineman Colin Bryant. McEwen still lives in Grand Rapids for
seven months out of the year and then lives in Oklahoma City for the five months
of the af2 season.

A trip to Oklahoma to see the
game would require a 15-hour drive from my home in Michigan, but I could not
pass up the opportunity to see these two former GR coaches competing against
each other on the field. The two teams met earlier this season in Texas with
Trigg and the Sharks coming out on top 65-62.

Since both coaches had AFL head
coaching experience, I wanted to get their take on the AFL suspending the 2009
season and why the af2 has been able to continue to operate.

"It's really the structure of
the af2 that has us going right now," said Trigg. "It's still an affordable and
inexpensive product for the consumer. It's not that expensive to own, manage and
operate (a franchise) compared to a lot of other pro sports. The economy is
playing a big part in the lack of attendance that we're experiencing overall
(this year), so it's a tough time for everyone involved."

McEwen had his own take on the
AFL situation. "It's unfortunate (that the AFL suspended the 2009 season). In
today's economy, everyone is starving for a job. When the economy began to take
its (downward) turn, it affects everything. There's always a chance that
something like that could happen (to the AFL)."

I also wanted to know how
different coaching in the af2 was compared to coaching in the AFL.

"It a lot different," said
Trigg. "You've got to (recruit) guys a lot harder to come play this game because
of the limited amount of money that they make per week. It's a fight. You have
to fight and scratch to find guys and convince them that this is a worthwhile
[league]. That's why the AFL is so important to us. Without the AFL (as a league
to move up to), it's a difficult sell."

While Trigg struggles to
recruit players in Corpus Christi, McEwen finds himself in a much better
position to find players in Oklahoma City. "Depending on the geographic location
of the (af2) team, I think it's going to be a little bit more difficult to
recruit players," McEwen said. "I'm excited about my position here in Oklahoma
City. We're in Big 12 country! We also have a number of Division II schools
playing in the area."

Does either coach want to
return to the AFL?

"I've always been an AFL guy,
as a player, an assistant coach and as a head coach," Trigg said. "When I was
released by Philadelphia it seemed that I had made my run. I have to be
realistic for myself. What I've done in the AFL has helped get me this position
in Corpus Christi. It's been a tough road for me (in the af2) and I have not
enjoyed the success (on the field) that I would have liked to deliver."

On the other hand, McEwen was
more upbeat. "I love it here in Oklahoma City. My family also loves it here. Mr.
Miller (the Yard Dawgz owner) has treated us all well here. If the AFL comes
back, I'll be happy for it, but I'm right at home here in Oklahoma City."

The Yard Dawgz play their home
games in the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City and they went into the game
with a 6-5 record. The Sharks record was 2-9.

The Yard Dawgz opened the game
by taking a 22-0 lead and never looked back. At halftime, they were up 59-26,
which was a new af2 record for most first half points scored in a single game.
The final score was 93-41 and was a new Oklahoma City franchise record for most
points in a game.

In the last two years, Trigg
and McEwen have faced each other three times on the gridiron. This was the first
win by McEwen over his former mentor.

"It's bittersweet for me
because I won a world championship with (Trigg)," McEwen said after the game. "I
love him, he gave me my shot (in the AFL). He taught me my management skills of
the game."

Trigg leads the head-to-head
series 2-1 over McEwen. However, his overall record with the Sharks since 2007
is 15-29.

McEwen's Yard Dawgz were 10-6
in 2004 but lost in the first round of the playoffs. They were 6-10 last year
and are currently 7-5 this season.

While both men have struggled
to establish themselves in the af2, they need look no further than the rings on
their fingers to recall better days, and a world championship, in Grand Rapids.

SPECIAL THANKS

I want to extend a special
thank you to Jon Hocker, Media Relations Director of the Yard Dawgz and Ryan
Haigh, the team's Assistant General Manager for their help while I was in
Oklahoma City. I would also like to thank Scott Howe, Media Relations Director
of the Corpus Christi Sharks. All three helped make this article possible.